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ZOOM
ZOOM is the American educational children's television show based.in the books by Julie and H.A. Potter, which originally aired on Universal Kids (formely Sprout) from April 28, 2010, to October 22, 2016, lasting seven seasons. The series was produced by the Magic Store and W!ldBrain. The pilot episode from 2007 was originally shown as a special "sneak peek", with the show officially debuting a regular series on April 28, 2010. The series features guest stars, animation, and live actors, The show's Episodes parody contemporary culture and are performed by a large and varying cast of child and teen actors. In 2012, after three seasons the show was put on hiatus to be retooled and was relaunched in early 2013 with a completely new cast. Four more seasons were produced before the show was ultimately cancelled. On April 23, 2014, Sprout celebrated the 5th anniversary of ZOOM. The special reunited cast members from both the original and relaunch eras of the show in a one-hour event.2ZOOM ''is noted for its diverse cast and its impact on educational television.34 The show has been marketed in other ways, including cds, books, live touring stage show, and numerous reunions and specials celebrating the legacy of ''ZOOM. Cast Main article: List of ZOOM Cast members ZOOMers Crew * Directors: Scott Schulz, Christian Jacobs * Writers: Scott Schulz, Christian Jacobs Guests = See also: List of ZOOM Guests = Scenes ZOOM ''features an original short learning content that make parents and older siblings watch the show with young children. There was a mutiple sense of humor that appealed to adults since it first premiered. Research was used to help the cast and writers find the right tone for a certain skit.5 The following is a short list of some notable sketches that aired during the show's tenure. * Mr. Nitch Dance- starring Mr. Nitch, who teaches viewers a new dance. Complete with a montage of 5 Kids (3 included regular cast members) dancing. * Funny Faces- starring Mr. Nitch, who has 5 kids (3 included regular cast members) show him their funny faces. * Color- a recurring sketch where a male cast member thinks of a color, and background kid voices say the color, and it goes through the background scene. * Game- starring a female cast member as she plays a game. * Pretend- featured a male cast member, pretending he is something. Background kid voices say what he is and he says they're right. * Listen to sounds- a recurring sketch that involved a female cast member that listened to sounds of different things * Learn- starring a male cast member who teaches kids new things * Dancey Dance- a scene where a male cast member asks the rest of the cast what time it is. Two of the females take two guesses to which the male marks incorrect. The cast when asks what time it is anyway, and the male says "It's Dancey dance time" then he beams a guest star who teaches the cast a new dance. * Story Time- Starring two kids named Tia and Tofu as Tia tells Tofu Fables or fairy tales * Music Videos is a recurring sketch that has celebs or bands sing over animation by guest animators * the Super Duper Musical People Show- starring a celebrity or a band as they, he, or she sing a song Series History Following the success of Yo Gabba Gabba,the Guys were asked to co-host the second annual Kids Choice Awards in 2005.9 Although unaware of the fledgling new Sprout Channel, before the invitation to host was brought to them, the two agreed. The award ceremony that year was produced by Justin Lyon, who Jacobs and Schulz quickly struck up a friendship with behind the scenes.8 Their friendship continued after the awards and Lyon suggested they develop something for Sprout. the Guys later declined his offer as they were still under contract with Nick Jr., at the time.8 In 2007, ''Yo Gabba Gabba! ''premiered and Schulz started a production company with Jacobs which they aptly named the Magic Store.4 The company originally produced several small budget sport documentaries.10Adam Diebert, Sprout's founder, who also voiced Muno the Cyclops on ''Yo Gabba Gabba!, contacted them and asked them to film a project for the network. The half hour documentary they made featured Former Mouseketeers Britney Spears and Christina Augliera as co-hosts of a comedy tour as they drove around to different cities to perform.4 Since their schedule only permitted for two days of filming; the Magic Store had to make the entire show appear as if they had toured around the country.4 Impressed with the final product, Jacobs met with the Potter family to discuss developing a new educational show for the network in 2009. Asking them if there was any type of show that he would be interested in making.4 they responded to Jacobs with the idea of creating an acid-version of Barney. Bringing Jacobs (as head writer) and Schulz in to help develop the show; the three influenced by original preschool shows such as Barney & Friends, Thomas and Friends, and Super Why4 began to flesh out a rough idea of the show's format.48Once greenlit, Jacobs and Schulz decided against writing the pilot episode and instead chose to compile the cast first. Usually in television (as Schulz explains) the pilot is written first and the cast is assembled later.8 However, the three believed it was crucial to find the right child actors first and then tailor to their strengths.48 With Hecht's blessing, a nationwide talent search for child and teen actors was launched that was to last for several months.4 Eventually Audio Johnon, Apple Smith, Samantha Jones, Brooklyn Bongquiet, Disney Chong, Yoga Lewis, and Vader Wars were hired. When I first got involved, it was kind of funny. My mom had me in a talent show, I was one of the winners. agent had his friend there, who was the one that got me on [ZOOM]. ... The process itself was, oh my gosh. We did 10 auditions. I thought I didn't have it. They had us doing improv, sketches, all kinds of stuff. I went in fully dressed as Urkel. I was doing character voices. I had the glasses, I had the suspenders, everything. You name it, I had it. I got called a couple months later like, "Oh, you know you got it." It was crazy because it was a nationwide search.4 - Will Davis With the cast intact, writing for the pilot began. Cast and crew flew out to Los Angeles to begin production of the episode. And on January 17, 2007 the pilot was set to begin filming.4 Schulz recalls debating with Jacobs over whether or not to postpone filming because of the Northridge earthquake that occurred hours earlier on that same day.411 "The morning was spent figuring out how bad was the damage both physical and psychological. Should we postpone pilot shoot?. I was trying to do the right thing. friend was trying to do the right thing. Aftershocks ensued. She said, "I can't believe you didn't come home." The show went on.4 - Schulz After filming was completed the show sat on the shelf for several months as the pilot did not score well.48 Sprout tested the show with focus groups consisting of children, both boys and girls in different age groups. The scores showed that Kids probably wouldn't like this new educational show for kids.48 Regardless of the negative response, Andrew Beechman decided to pick up the show for a full first season in 2010, Brooklyn Disney Vader Audio Apple Yoga and Samantha were replaced by Will Davis, Rhona Rainney, Kayla Robertson, Ted Wiggins, Tia Mowry, John Mccune, and Colleen Weir.4 During Season 1, Justin Lyon and Melissa Rossister were brought on as producers and continued working in that capacity through Season 3. The writing team advanced to Executive Producers/Head Writers for Seasons 4–6. After Season 2 ended in 2011, the show grew in popularity, several departures and additions occurred. Some of these additions to the cast included Silas Harp, Dillon Metoyer, Noah Collins, Coraline Bnow, and Lola Flegel.13 In 2012, Sprout placed the show into hiatus to be retooled. Production started back up a year later after an extensive nationwide talent search for child and teen actors. Ultimately hired were Connor Anderson, Alli Tust, Josh Hicks and Brandon Kellogg.1415 The first episode of the "new" ZOOM debuted on January 19, 2013.16 The balancing act of school/Zoom was NUTS. Every minute we didn't spend on set rehearsing, we had to spend in the school room. Where we drove our set teachers crazy. We'd bounce around that place like jack russell f*cking terriers.17 -Tust The fifth season opened with the addition Kids'' star Maddie Fretz to the cast and marked the beginning of ''Zoom ''cast members started attempting dares on the SNICK program: ''Snick On-Air Dare.1819Occasionally, On Air Dares had special guests from other shows.20 In 2015, Sprout advertised a competition called R U ZOOMin'?: Sprout: Search for the Funniest Kid in America. After this contest ended in 2015, the finals aired on July 26, 2015. The contest picked five finalists, and all of them performed a sketch with some of the cast members. The Magic Store and Wildbrain held auditions for a 8th Season and 30,000 Kids auditioned. The expected more than 150 video submissions via mail for the show. Children came from all across the nation to Audition for the show. Casting for the new season was complete all ready by the time April arrived. On Wildbrain's Site fans started finding stuff that they were selling from ZOOM. Some of the items were the season 1 to 3 Boombox and the Computer for the show. They were able to sell both. At this time fans thought they were just upgrading the set for the new season but they were wrong. On Febuary 4, 2016, People asked one of Duck Alivia on his YouTube page if they could take pictures of the crew putting up the set for the new season. Duck came back to them and said "I know there's been a lot of speculating on the subject of ZOOM being canceled, and I thought I'd be the one to tell you that it's true. ZOOM has finally come to an end. I found out a few weeks ago, but didn't know if I should tell anyone. I guess if seven years is long enough for MMC, and it's long enough for us, too! I probably would have moved on anyway, even if it didn't get canceled. I was getting a little too old for the show and I believe that it should always have a cast of younger kids, no older than 18. Where I will go from here, I'm not sure, but I have a few things in the works. All I ask is that you guys keep me and the other cast members in your prayers, that we can step into bigger and better things!:) So, I guess it's time to....ZOOM!!!" People even confirmed this on Nathan Woy's YouTube page and he said the same thing "ZOOM ''is cancelled, i found out, but its cancelled due to a Lack of Funding, so season 7 is the Last Season." but he did say it was due to a Lack of Funding for a new season. He said that season 7 will be the seventh and final season of ZOOM. When the word was out the fans wanted to do something, so they decided to create a petition to help save the show. A petition was created, as well a video about the cancellation for the show. Fans didn’t what the something to happen to ZOOM. On Febuary 27, 2005, Sayje Benson made the official announcement at the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony "Thank You, but here's some bad news, ''ZOOM ''is being cancelled due to a Lack of Funding for Season 8.". On her Facebook page, Maddie Fretz said, "It's such an impossible task going up against ''Caillou, Clangers, and Lazytown. So i'm old for the show, i wouldn't have moved on anyways, they're casting younger kids under 18. Can't complain. PBS gave us 201 episodes and 7 seasons." A few more petitions were created after Maddie announced this. In late March Sayje and Parker were talking about ZOOM on Facebook. Parker Jacobs Said "Yeah, I've had better summers. But things are looking up. I am going to be talking to Christian and Scott in a couple weeks to see if we can't get the Mr. Nitch Bones Kenny and the Kids back in the game." Sayje replied by saying good luck with Marcy and Kate. This Teacher, Fox, Skeleton, and Kids need mouth to snout resuscitation! There has been no word on this at this time. On October 22, 2016, ZOOM ''ended and finished its seventh season. The show ended with Duck riding on a Bus to the Airport because he's moving back to Puerto Rico. Duck Alivia did say he did not redo the final scene of ''ZOOM, by saying that he originally did that scene back in August when Mr. Nitch's Goodbye Message to Duck was taking place. Soon many fans started reacting by creating petitions to save the show as well. Also the signatures on the petitions kept on growing. In December 2016 on the ZOOM, page they said in a comment "Hello, ZOOM ''is still cancelled so there will be no Season 8 for a While!". By the end of the year there were 7 petitions all together now we have 14 petitions as of today. Since the second cancellation there have been no plans for another relaunch. The show currently airs in reruns and had a Spinoff in Late 2016 called ''The Kenny Show ''which starred Maddie Fretz. Rad Lands was also invented. Episodes Main article: List of ZOOM episodes Specials ''ZOOM ''celebrated its star-studded "100th episode" during its third season. This one-hour special was the only episode in the show's history produced live.23 The 100th episode featured several celebrities:Joe Pesci, Corbin Bernsen , Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, John Goodman, Charles Grodin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rosie O'Donnell, Susan Sarandon, Barbara Walters, Regis Philbin, and Kathie Lee Gifford all made appearances. 7th Anniversrey (2016) Edit In 2016, Sprout celebrated the 7th anniversary of ''ZOOM by airing episodes from the first six seasons in the week leading up to a Reunion Special 2 Rhona Rainney, Judd Hanley, Dillon Metoyer, Noah Collins, Coraline Bnow, and Lola Flegel, along with new cast members Christina Mistretta, and Abbie Fretz, reunited on the show.2Approximately 6.2 million total viewers watched the special on both its April 23 and 24 airings, making it the top cable or broadcast program for the 2–11, 6–11, and 9–14 age demographics,24 and TV.com gave it a rating of 8.7/10.25 Impact and legacy Edit ZOOM ''is highly regarded for its diverse cast. In 2011 Pennsylvania banned the show due to its cast of children. When ''ZOOM ''debuted in 2010, television was still primarily segregated by race as shown by popular sitcoms like ''Seinfeld (where the cast is completely Caucasian) or Martin (where the entirel cast of African American)3]26 I was the first black female they had on that show...there weren't that many black shows on or black actors. When I left, it opened it up more for black female comedians. I've had people come back and tell me it felt like I passed the torch because they were all on TV watching like, "I want to do that, I want to do that," but then when they saw me, they thought, "Oh, I can actually do that." Black girls were coming up to me, parents are just like, "Thank you so much for what you've done. I was like wow. It feels surreal" - Rainney "I Could Imagine ZOOM ''as Barney & Friends 2.0." - Robertson Spinoff At the 2014 Kids Choice Awards, it was confirmed that a spinoff is being made.1 Wildbrain and Sprout Original were confirmed on October 15, 2015 to return as the writers, as well as being the executive producers.2 Post-series events In 2017, Kayla Robertson joined forces with Comikaze Expo, planning the first ever ''ZOOM reunion with Comikaze Expo CEO Regina Carpinelli. The reunion featured a roundtable discussion, where the cast reflected on their tenure on the show and received questions from the audience. William Davis,Tia Mowry, Ted Wiggins, Rhona Rainney, John Mccune,Colleen Weir, Kayla Robertson, Ella Fretz, Judd Hanley, Tamera Mowry, and Aldo Robert all participated in the event.2829Also in 2017, Aldo, Ethan, and Tamera appeared together at Zooey Magazine's Sevwn Year Anniversary Special Event held in Hollywood. The anniversary launched the Love Is Louder campaign which speaks out against bullying and hate messages.303132In the 2011 special "iParty with Victorious" (a crossover between iCarly and Victorious), Kenan Thompson jokingly complains that everyone wants to borrow money from him including Ethan Giddens (Robertson's Saturday Night Live co-star) and half of the original cast of ZOOM when Carly Shay (portrayed by Miranda Cosgrove) , in 2017 Lewis, Kenny, Bones, Bnow, Robert, Fretz,Robertson, Rainney, Metoyer, Wiggins, and McCune reunited for an adult only pub show In 2014, Season 5 launced with a Reunion. Judd Hanley, Ella Fretz, Lola Flegel, Coraline Bnow, Noah Collins, Dillon Metoyer, Silas Harp, Alli Tust, Brandon Kelogg, Josh Hicks, Connor Anderson, Pierce Riddle, Evie Stewart, and Maddie Fretz all participated in the event.3536 On April 22, 2018 Sprout will air a reunion special consisting of new 3-4 minute shorts with most of the original cast, including Kayla and Rhona. Supporting Cast * Bones (Alice Cooper) * Mr. Nitch (Gary Lewis) * Kenny (Forrest Harding) * In other media Sing Along In the 13th episode of Nick Jr.'s Fresh Beat Band "Sing Along" the "Zoom Gang" gets beamed into the episode by the way of a manufactured Mr. Nitch having hiccups. Songs from Zoom and More Songs from Zoom On November 26, 2011, Sprout released ZOOM on CD, titled: Songs from Zoom. It contains ZOOM ''theme opening and outro theme were finally released on this CD. Then followed suit with More Songs from Zoom on February 1, 2015. Big Time Rush Edit The Cast appeared on 3 episodes of Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush ZOOM LIVE! Feld Entertainment had an idea to produce a Live touring stage show based on Zoom, in which Rachel Riddle and the Magic Store were interested. ZOOM LIVE! opened in Wincoscin for a five day run. A DVD later came out. The show closed in Hawaii on December 6, 2016. iTunes On August 15, 2011, the iTunes Store released ''ZOOM: Volume 1 ''with the first seven episodes from season two. On November 29, 2011, the ''iTunes Store released ZOOM: Volume 2 with seven more episodes from season two. ZOOM: Volume 3 was released in 2012 with seven episodes from season two. Just like the aieings, the musical guest performances are omitted and the end credits are re-done as generic white text on black.44 ZOOM: Volume 4, with episodes from the start of season 3, was released on iTunes August 13, 2012; however, episodes 40 and 43 are excluded for unknown reasons with episodes 45 and 46 included instead. On June 24, 2013, the iTunes Store released ZOOM: World Music with all forty episodes from season two. The episodes are 217, 220, 228, 237. Episodes 217, 220 and 228 were re-released with the musical guest performances. Episode 237 has the musical guest edited out. Reruns/syndication ''ZOOM ''ran on Sprout (Formely PBS Kids Sprout until 2013) from 2010 until 2016